All Articles Tagged "melanie"

Remember earlier this week we told you that rumors were circulating that Tia Mowry and Pooch Hall aka Melanie and Derwin were coming back to “BET’s The Game”? Wendy Racquel Robinson aka Tasha Mack, spoke with a lot of confidence about them making their way back to the show. And we all got excited. “The Game” is cool now but can we be real, it ain’t been the same since Pooch and Tia left. So we were amped about this reunion.

Until…earlier this week when Pooch shut all of that doooowwwn. All the way down. And the sad thing is Pooch wanted to come back to the show and was planning on it. It was actually BET’s decision to ice him out…again. Now, we know Pooch and Tia are the ones who ultimately decided to leave the show but it was only after the network decided to decrease their roles. And being that they were the principal characters it was odd, to say the least. But you know the world kept spinning, Pooch and Tia kept working and we thought the beef between all parties had settled.

But umm… perhaps not.

Check out the tweets from Pooch earlier this week, particularly the last one.

Wow… from the outside looking in, this seems foul. So now we have to wonder, what’s the issue? Why couldn’t Pooch come back though? BET must know the fans want Melanie and Derwin back…what gives? Who’s going to start the petition? I know this series of questions is making me sound really desperate right now but this is serious business.

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When I saw Lauren London on “Single Ladies” Monday night I was thinking, I wonder why they didn’t have her replace Stacey Dash’s character since she’d already been on the show before, but maybe the reason is she already had a new gig in the works. According to TV Line, she will be joining the cast of “The Game” and taking the place of Tia Mowry, a.k.a. Melanie.

Lauren won’t take over Melanie’s part, she’ll be playing one half of the new couple we told you about that’s supposed to replace Melanie and Derwin as the center of the show. Her character Kiera is described as a 20-year-old former child star who has been in the spotlight since she was five years old and starred on a ‘Cosby’-like sitcom. The casting call listed her characteristics as bright and charming, but struggling to transition into a grown-up career and apparently Lauren fits the bill.

Her match, Bryce ‘The Blueprint’ Westbook, an Ivy League #1 draft pick who’s as good on the field as he is in the classroom, hasn’t been named yet, but I’m wondering how Pooch thinks he’ll handle becoming a secondary character if BET does actually allow him to come back like he wants to.

I guess it’s time to start thinking of actors who could play Lauren’s on-screen boo. Who comes to mind? Plus, what do you think about her joining the cast?

BET didn’t take long getting “The Game’s” storyline together post-Melanie and Derwin. According to Zap 2 it’s blog, there are two new cast members coming to town, and presumably taking over as the main characters for season 6. Here’s the deal according to their spoilers:

“With Tia Mowry leaving the show, producers are looking for a new female actress to join the cast in the regular role of Kiera, a 20-year-old former child star who has been in the spotlight since she was five years old and starring on a ‘Cosby’ style sitcom. According to the casting call, she’s bright and charming, but struggling into transitioning into a grown-up career.

“Kiera isn’t the only newbie in town! Another series regular will be hired to play Bryce ‘The Blueprint’ Westbook – a #1, Ivy League draft pick running back who breaks every ‘dumb athlete’ stereotype. He’s not only got a Heisman Trophy, but he’s usually the smartest guy in the room — which sets his new teammates on edge.”

I think we can assume from the descriptions these two may not get along so well with Tasha Mack and Malik. I’m not terribly excited about the character concepts but it is what it is. Since there’s nothing fans can do to resurrect Melanie and Derwin or demand better story lines, let’s have some fun with this:

What actors would you want to see fill the rolls of Kiera and Bryce?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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If we think back a couple of seasons, the only reason “The Game” made it to BET was because fans petitioned for a revival of the show after it was booted from the CW. That moves speaks very highly to the power of the viewers and the same people who fought to bring the show back are now pushing for BET to get a clue and improve the series’ story lines—even if there’s no Melanie or Derwin. In an open letter to BET, Akil Productions, and Deborah Lee, fans say the entire network should be ashamed of what they’ve put out the past two seasons:

We created a Facebook page awhile back about the direction of The Game since its return on BET. We strongly believe that Akil productions and BET used the show as a stepping stool for other projects and ventures. The Akils to become a “well -known” production company and BET to develop better programming. Since the signing with BET, the Akils have produced Jumping the Broom and Sparkle and paid very little attention to the current state of the show. This ultimately lead to what we believe is the demise of the show. Yes, its just a tv show, however its bigger than that. BET lacks integrity and fails to provide a positive representation for the African American community. Since the show returned to BET, we’ve seen a “ghetto” Brandy, a gun toting, kush smoking, sex addicted, angry black woman in Tasha, a drunk in Malik and a marriage that seems to have an issue every other week with Melanie and Derwin. Not to mention the sudden exit of the only white cast member -Brittany Daniels, which is questionable. We received sloppily written story lines that lack continuity, bad lighting and poorly directed episodes. This is sad as television shows on a whole are on a decline especially shows that are a reflection of our community. The show declines in viewers every week, now averaging 1.9 million viewers, down from 7.7 million in two seasons. Both BET and the Akils should be ashamed in their selfish plot, after we the fans fought for the shows return. We’ve reached out to both BET and the Akils on Twitter and Facebook in the past, which resulted in us being blocked, along with anyone that posted constructive criticism of the show. BET, Deborah Lee and the Akils along with any other future production company should pay attention to the fans, and the quality of programming they provide, if not, this will not be the last show that will quickly fail under BET’s umbrella.

You really can’t argue with anything they say. We all should’ve known there would be ratch on top of ratchedness when Brandy’s character was named Chardonnay but eventually the other problems with the show overshadowed that name flaw. I don’t think the Akil’s are unique in their sloppy story lines just from looking at other television programs but that’s a problem in itself. We’d like to be able to see a black sitcom/drama/comedy/etc. written by us that isn’t predictable with stereotypical plots and that hasn’t happened with “The Game” and honestly it probably won’t. If producers and writers didn’t think to do it right the first time, they probably won’t bother much at this point for what will likely be the final season of the show.

Do you think it’s time to mourn the loss of “The Game” or should fans still hold out for improvement?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

The story that Melanie and Derwin would be no more on BET’s “The Game” is no longer just a rumor. Tia Mowry confirmed her exit last night on Twitter and her on-screen husband Pooch Hall is definitely leaving with her.

“Just wanted to let all my fans know that I will not be returning to The Game for season 6,” Tia tweeted. “It was an incredible run and I had lots of fun.”

The obvious question of why, along with how the heck is the show going to go on without the two main characters, hasn’t been answered yet, but it appears both actors have moved on to bigger, and perhaps better, things.

Pooch already a new gig as a series regular on Ray Donovan, a new Showtime pilot which was picked up. From most of your comments, HBO and Showtime are the route to go if you want to have a good role on TV so Pooch might be on the come up. As far as Tia, she just released a new book on motherhood, Oh Baby!, which hits stores today, and the second season of her and Tamera’s reality TV show on the Style Network will be coming back soon. I doubt she’s going to make a full career out of reality TV but at least the checks will still be rolling in.

Some reports have said the actors will be back to wrap up their story lines and TV Overmind says Pooch will still have a recurring role next season, much like Coby Bell’s Jason Pitts. I haven’t been watching the show consistently, but after last night’s episode it seemed Melanie might be moving to DC, so they could easily make her character disappear that way. We’ll have to see what goes down in the season finale June 5.

Does Tia and Pooch leaving ruin any chance of you watching next season?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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According to Hip Hollywood, Pooch Hall and Tia Mowery will not be returning to The Game next season. Considering that their characters Melanie and Derwin are the central figures in the show, we have no idea how BET will create a narrative to explain their departure. It was somewhat easier to write off Kelly Pitts (Brittany Daniel) out of the show when she had contract issues, but The Game without Melanie and Derwin is a whole ‘other beast, which leads me to believe that this particular rumor may be fueled by contract disputes. Hopefully, the stars’ demands will be met and they can return to the beloved show next season.

Stay tuned to see if this rumor is true…

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Fans were elated when they learned that BET was picking up the latest season of the recently canceled show “The Game.” Millions of people tuned in for the season premiere. Some were thoroughly pleased with the show on the new network and others felt it had become too dramatic and the acting was less than. Either way the show did well enough for BET to pick it up for another season.

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Last night’s episode was a bore for me. Everything seems so rushed and thrown together without the storyline having proper time to develop. Next week is the season finale, so it will be interesting to see how this season is going to end. I remember the days when one season ran from October to May. Now we only get two full moths of ‘The Game.” Dang, BET. Anyway, last night was all about new beginnings as the characters turn over new chapters in their lives, and try to move on from the past. See what happened when you read on.

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With only two more episodes left of the season, this week was all about lies on top of lies. Tasha and her son faced the consequences of their deceitful actions when their lives begin to crumble. Jason, Kelly and smart mouth Brit Brat don’t make an appearance, but Tasha and Malik’s drama was just enough to keep us entertained. And for once girl Melanie was less dramatic and more mature. Take a look inside to see how the lies of mother and son came crashing down.

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So apparently, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree—not for “The Game” stars at least. Young Brittany Pitts has already mastered manipulation like her father, Malik Wright obviously got his additive personality from Mama Mack, and Melanie clearly acquired her taste for men with status from her dear old mom. Let’s hope that history doesn’t repeat itself too much. Anyways, check out the Episode 9 highlights and let us know what you think: